Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Q&A and Giveaway Featuring: Aimee Carter & Goddess Interrupted

Aimee Carter is back with the latest release in her Goddess Test series. Goddess Interrupted is a MUST READ that should be at the TOP of everyone's "to-be-read" list for the summer. It's the perfect tantalizing and echanting novel to tote around pool/beachside or to curl up in nice and comfy with in the hammock on a warm and sunny summer day. The romance is enough to quench any readers thirst and the humanity and strength of will pops to life on the pages, making it an extremely clever and engaging read.

You can check out my review for GODDESS INTERRUPTED and see what I thought about it.

It's definitely at the top of my "to-be-read again" list, what about you?

Harlequin Teen and Karen are pretty amazing to offer up a hard copy of Goddess Interrupted to a lucky follower and to share with them a little more insight into this amazing series that just pops and sparkles with vibrancy and sweet romance. It's a series that I've enjoyed a great deal, myself. So, I'm super excited to share with you, this question and answer with Aimee Carter.

Question and Answer with Aimee Carter

How familiar were you with Greek myths and folklore before writing the Goddess Test series? Was a lot of research required?

I first fell in love with Greek mythology when I was a kid learning how to read, and my infatuation only grew from there. I’ve studied various kinds of mythology for years, sometimes for class and always for fun, but even then I put a great deal of research into the Goddess Test series. Mostly as a refresher to make sure I was getting my facts right, but I also researched the various myths looking for ways to tie the plots and characters together in unexpected ways.

Was Goddess Interrupted any easier or harder to write than the first book in the series, The Goddess Test?

It was both easier and harder, in a strange way. I rewrote The Goddess Test multiple times, and I’ve never edited a book more heavily in my life. Goddess Interrupted did require some editing, of course, but it was much easier.

However, the pressure to deliver a sequel worthy of the series made the writing process for Goddess Interrupted more difficult than I’d anticipated. There’s something called the “sophomore slump”, where sequels or second books generally don’t quite match up to the second, and I wanted to avoid that at all cost. So that added a lot of stress, but in the end, I was very happy with the results.

You give the gods and goddesses in the series “ordinary names” – Zeus is named Walter, Aphrodite goes by Ava, Hermes is named James. Why did you do that and do the more contemporary names have any significance?

This was something I went back and forth on multiple times. Initially the characters Kate encounters weren’t council members at all – I changed that very, very quickly though. By the second draft, I had a place for each of the Olympians, and I did some heavy rewriting to replace my first draft characters with the gods. I wanted to find a way to keep their names the same, but since they’re supposed to live among us in secret in the modern world, it didn’t really make sense. How many men named Zeus do you know, or women called Aphrodite? On top of that, keeping the council’s identities secret was incredibly important to the plot. So eventually I decided they would have changed their names when Western civilization stopped worshipping them as gods, allowing them to live freely among us.

I did choose each name for what it means, some more than others – Walter, for instance, means “army leader”, while James means “supplanter”. The exception is Calliope, which in the story was chosen by her counterpart for its Greek roots. The reason the gods changed their names – and why Artemis didn’t wind up with the name Diana – is explained throughout the series, but you get to actually see this happen in The Goddess Legacy (July 31).

Goddess Interrupted begins with the main character Kate Winters adjusting to her new life as an immortal. Given Kate’s innate strength and stubbornness, was it difficult to switch gears to portray her as a bit more vulnerable and unsure of herself in her new role as goddess AND wife?

Not so much, to be honest – her progression felt natural to me. While Kate is very tough in certain ways, she’s extremely vulnerable as well. She’s emotionally dependent on the people around her (her mother in the first book, Henry in the second), and that in and of itself carves the path she takes in the sequel. She’s spent six months with Henry, falling in love with him and forming a relationship she thinks is going to last for eternity. But Henry is battling his own demons and isn’t ready to be the person she needs him to be, and because Kate is so stubborn, she has a hard time coming to terms with that. In the sequel, Kate really is her own worst enemy emotionally – her entire world has changed, after all, and that’s a lot for anyone to take – but it’s all part of her development into a goddess and queen.

Kate finds herself trying to work through her rather complicated relationship with James, as well as her relationship with her new husband, Henry (Hades). Neither seems to be black and white, but rather varying shades of gray. Were any of Kate’s feelings or situations based on any relationship struggles you’ve been through?

Not personally, no, but I did try to make Kate’s relationships with the people in her life as realistic as possible. She isn’t perfect, and neither are they, and that’s something they all have to work through at varying points in the series. None of the relationships in the books are based off of specific experiences I’ve been through though.

What is your favorite part of the writing process? Least favorite?

Outlining is by far my favorite part of the process. I love the idea stage, where anything’s possible, and it’s such a shiny place. All of that comes crashing down when I write the first draft though, which is the hardest part for me. I tend to get mentally exhausted about two thirds to three quarters of the way into the manuscript, and it’s always a struggle for me to push through it, especially if I’m on a deadline. And inevitably there are a ton of problems I didn’t notice in the outline stage that have to be fixed for the story to work. I’m a perfectionist, so in order for me to continue writing the story, everything I’ve already written has to make sense.

Do you have a favorite quote or line from a poem or book?

I love so many quotes that I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite.

How did you get your first publishing deal and how did that feel?

My agent, Rosemary Stimola, sent the manuscript out to various publishers, and after a long submission process, Harlequin TEEN offered to publish it! I was stunned at first, but that quickly gave way to giddiness. It was an incredible feeling to know I’d be published, and to this day, I still can’t quite believe it.

When is the next book in the series due out? Any hints on what will happen in book 3?

Goddess Interrupted, the sequel to The Goddess Test, came out in late March. The next book in the series, The Goddess Legacy, will be out July 31. It’s a collection of five novellas told in the perspectives of Calliope, Ava, Persephone, James, and Henry, and together they form one story.

The third book in the series, The Goddess Inheritance, is currently scheduled to be released in March 2013. Unfortunately I can’t say too much about it, but the challenges that Kate will face are pretty clear by the end of the sequel!

After the huge success of The Goddess Test, Goddess Interrupted is on many, many TBR lists for this summer. What’s on your TBR list?

I’m so excited for a slew of books coming out – The Girl in the Clockwork Collar, Grave Mercy, The Selection, The Serpent’s Shadow, Philippa Gregory’s YA novel, and a ton of others. I never have as much time to read as I want, but I’m definitely making time for all of those and more!

Yearbook Superlatives! If you went to high school with the Greek gods and goddesses, who would you vote for?

So, what books are at the top of your summer "to-be-read" pile and which Gods and Goddesses would you vote for if you went to high school with them?

See what I did up there? Sneaky, yes I am. All you have to do is answer the first part of the question when you fill out the Rafflecopter below and you will definitely be entered to win a bright shiny new copy of Goddess Interrupted your very own to read by the pool/beach and/or lakeside/shore.

You must be at least 13 years old, a resident of USA or Canada only, and leave your name, email address, and the way you follow my blog. You'll have 48 hours to respond back to my email once the winner has been chosen, if you don't respond back within that time then I will be forced to choose another winner and I really don't like doing that. So, please help me out, by responding and claiming your prize.

Aimée Carter was born and raised in Michigan, where she currently resides. Her first novel for young adults, THE GODDESS TEST, will be published by Harlequin Teen on April 19th, 2011. The sequel, GODDESS INTERRUPTED, will follow in January 2012.